OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT For Teens, Focuses on Safety and Deeper Learning
ChatGPT for Teens comes with stronger built-in safety protections that the company said will lower exposure to potentially harmful content with themes such as violence, self-harm, eating disorders and dangerous activities
OpenAI is releasing ChatGPT for Teens, a version of its artificially intelligent chatbot aimed at children aged 13 to 17 that the company said encourages safe usage and deeper learning.
OpenAI said in an announcement on Tuesday that the new model, which comes with increased parental controls, is designed to promote healthy AI use and encourage teens to learn and think critically.
ChatGPT for Teens comes at a time when the company is facing mounting scrutiny over how its products impact young users’ mental health and cognitive development. The company had updated its chatbot’s safeguards last August after the parents of 16-year-old user sued the company, claiming that its technology aided in the planning of his April 2025 suicide.
Starting Tuesday, ChatGPT for Teens will become the default chatbot available for teen users who have registered their birthdays; the company will also switch to its ChatGPT for Teens model if it detects that a user falls within the 13 to 17-year-old age range. OpenAI did not clarify how it would detect that.
ChatGPT for Teens comes with stronger built-in safety protections that the company said will lower exposure to potentially harmful content with themes such as violence, self-harm, eating disorders and dangerous activities.
“We’re strengthening protections that prevent ChatGPT from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions,” the company said in a blog post Tuesday announcing the new model.
The model will surface more frequent reminders to take a break and will give teens the option to set quiet hours, during which they can’t access the AI. Users will also have teen-focused onboarding to educate them on the model’s learning and safety features before usage.
A feature called Study Mode, which was developed with teachers, scientists, and education experts, will serve as an out-of-classroom learning tool. It will provide homework reminders and guiding questions to help teens work through an academic concept, instead of giving them a shortcut to the answer. The model also introduces Study Hours, which will create a default schedule for turning on Study Mode, which teens and parents can control.
OpenAI will also partner with technology education nonprofit Code AI to give students and teachers access to resources that will help them understand how the technology works and how to use it constructively.
“Today, nearly 9 in 10 teens on ChatGPT use it for learning, information, skill-building, or productivity in a single week,’ OpenAI said in its announcement blog.
